609 期 (2012 年 5 月) Renting an Apartment in Taipei 高二愛 陳尚陽 Chen, Shang-Yang Having a place to relax on the weekend would be lucky. Sadly, although there are several places suitable for me, most of them are in Taipei City, and that’s the worst thing. As everyone knows, the real-estate prices in Taipei are insane! Even if I had a job now and continued working for ten years in a row, I could still only buy a toilet in downtown Taipei. Therefore, to find a cheap and convenient apartment will be my ultimate goal for years to come. Let’s see when the day will come. If I could rent a house, convenience would be the first thing I would consider. No matter how luxurious or comfortable a house is, there will be no point if it is thirty kilometers away from downtown. To be qualified as my cozy home, the candidate must be close to an MRT station, since I don’t want to be stuck in the scary traffic jams of Taipei every morning. Next, a nearby supermarket like Costco and Carrefour is required. That way I wouldn’t be starved to death. Also, to make sure that I will not be bored, entertaining facilities must also be accessible in the area, such as movie theaters, baseball fields, bowling alleys, and so on. Finally, to improve my living quality, parks such as Da-an Forest Park are essential. Worse Than a Quitter is The Person Who is Afraid to Begin 高二仁 鄭雅勻 Cheng, Ya-Yun You have probably heard the proverb “Worse than a quitter is the person who is afraid to begin”. This proverb is an advice which was given by my English teacher, and it has a great influence on me. Take me as an example, I felt frustrated in my first year in senior high school, because it w as very difficult for me to memorize all the formula and understand all the laws, such as Kepler’s laws of planetary motion for physics. When I was about to give up; however, thanks to my English teacher’s timely encouragement, I have the courage to try again. At first, I wasn’t believe in myself, and was lack of confidence, but I spent much of the time reading textbooks again and again, so I can make it. Afterwards, I became more patient in learning, and I also figured out the best way for myself to learn. By learning step by step, I got the tips in doing physics question, and made progress on it. The saying has an effect on me not only on school work, but on dancing. I have a passion on dancing, but the way to a great dancer was tough. Last year, I was the leader of the school dance club, so I need to come up with a five minutes choreography for school’s talent show.